- Vail Farm Elementary School
- Visual Arts Curriculum
Visual Arts Curriculum
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The mission of art education:
To make creative thinking an enduring part of every child’s life
Art is all around us! The clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the buildings we live in, work in, & shop in, the furniture we sit in, the devices we use - have all been designed by artists. The arts develop curiosity and strong creative thinking skills, which are required for success in most professions.
What better way to foster this type of thinking than with a curriculum that is choice-based? For 13 years I taught lessons that were open-ended, and I welcomed students to approach them in their own way. However, they were still doing a project, really my project idea, and needed to show what I demonstrated. Students at Vail Farm Elementary now experience what it feels like to think like an artist. Students experience what it's like to generate an idea, explore materials, problem solve, persevere, edit, and reflect!
Teaching with choice means that students choose what to work on. The Art Studio is set up with tables as centers for mediums like drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, fiber arts, and printmaking. Centers are introduced slowly in the beginning of the year, with mini lessons on techniques or skills. In fact, every class will begin with a lesson or demonstration about techniques, or art history/artist study, or art elements/concepts. Students then plan new artwork, or continue their artwork from a previous class, and choose their medium or media. Students work at their own pace.
Artwork made in a choice-based environment will be authentic children's art. It may not look polished or pretty (or it might!), but it will be full of energy and passion. In a quality art education program, the learning is in the process, not the product.
"Through choice we are teaching our students how to think creatively. Students develop a style of their own because they come to understand that art comes from within themselves and that the art problems that interest them are valuable." ~Anne Bedrick, Art Teacher and Author, Choice without Chaos
Learn more about what this type of learning looks like by viewing these links:
Click to view information about T.A.B. Teaching for Artistic BehaviorTM organization
Click to view a pdf article on Visit to a Choice Based Art Classroom by Katherine Douglas
Click to view a pdf article on Art History from Inside Out by Nan E. Hathaway